


Christmas -- in space?

by bluphacelia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Everyone is just cute, Fluff, Gen, Gifts, Presents, Secret Santa, everyone a bit nostalgic, first christmas in space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9050881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluphacelia/pseuds/bluphacelia
Summary: "You know what, we should have Christmas -- in space," Lance declared, jerking up off the couch.
"That's stupid," Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I think it's a fantastic idea," Allura said and Lance grinned at her.
--They have Christmas in space w/ Secret Santa's cause why not





	

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays Everyone!! 
> 
> Tiny Christmas in SPACE story written for my friends. I'm sorry.

"I think it's almost Christmas," Pidge said as she tapped lethargically at her computer. The common room fell silent as the rest of the Paladins turned to look at her.

"Christmas?" Allura asked her voice piercing the sudden quit of what she'd deemed mandatory team building time.

"It's a holiday celebrating a dude's death? No, wait birth," Keith replied leaning back on the couch. Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith who just shrugged and looked away. 

"Mixed with some pagan fir trees indoors," Hunk supplied.

"And snow and presents and fairy lights," Pidge said and looked up. The green light from her monitor reflected off her glasses as she looked out past her fellow humans to the two large windows into the never ending darkness of space.

"That sounds fascinating!" Coran clapped his hands together. "What are fairy lights? Are they some sort of creature?" The room erupted as the humans tried to explain what the birth of a guy over two thousand years ago had to do with fir trees and presents and Santa Claus.

"You know what, we should have Christmas -- in space," Lance declared, jerking up off the couch.

"That's stupid," Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," Allura said and Lance grinned at her.

"We should do a Secret Santa!" Pidge chimed in. She'd closed her laptop a good while ago and joined the rest around the couch.

"Where are we going to get presents or anything Christmas related -- as Lance so well put it earlier -- in space," Keith asked rolling his eyes.

"We'll make do," Shiro put in his vote and Lance laughed, elbowing a miffed Keith in the side. The thought caught on and it didn't take long for plans to be hatched. 

A bowl was whisked from the kitchen and Pidge scribbled names down on small pieces of paper before folding them up and dumping them in. "Now, we each take one, but you're not allowed to get your own, so read it and make sure," she said as she shuffled the names around.

"Who should go first?" Allura asked, eyes gleaming.

"I think we should do it by age," Shiro suggested.

"Hey!" Pidge yelled and pulled the bowl away.

"Height?" Lance suggested, eyes twinkling and Pidge didn't look any more pleased.

"Let's just pick from the damn bowl," Keith snapped and grabbed a name. He flipped it open and groaned. "Can I pick again?"

"Hey!" Lance choked and made to grab a name only to have Pidge skirt around him, hand already in the bowl. She pulled out a name and handed the bowl to Allura who took one passing it along to Shiro.

Hunk caught the bowl and handed it over to Coran who then finally, mercifully, gave it to Lance who picked the last slip of paper.

"Now everyone make sure you don't have your own name! And don't tell anyone, it's a secret," Pidge said and eyed Keith.

"Do you think we'll get a chance to go planetside to get something?" Lance asked glancing between Allura and Shiro. They'd been keeping a low profile lately due to a sudden increased rate of Galra attacks.

"I think we need to do a supply run soon, we need more parts and we should get some fresh food. It'll be the perfect excuse to get some of these Christmas presents." Coran smiled.

"Just one present!" Allura corrected. "Why is it just one?"

"It makes it more interesting," Pidge smiled. "Also makes it so that everyone gets something special just for them."

That ended the discussion there and moved on to figure out what they could use for a tree. Lance was loudest about getting snow, but he was quickly shouted down since spaceships and huge quantities of melting liquid did not ideally mix. Soon, they decided it was worth the risk of flying to a nearby star system with a neutral planet, not controlled by the Galra empire, to get much needed supplies and of course -- presents.

Lions were left behind as they would attract too much attention, so as the castle docked at a nearby moon they dressed the best they could according to the local fashion and took three small pods down to the planet. It almost turned into a fight as Coran was reluctant to let Allura off the ship, but she was adamant about not being left behind. She wanted to get the best gift for her choice. At the bay doors, Pidge handed out communicators, that could be strapped to their wrists -- a new addition to her ever increasing arsenal of gadgets.

They left planetside; first pod holding Pidge and Keith. The ride down was uneventful and the town they'd landed on had a small trading post. They docked and after Pidge gathered the type of currency used and spread it around to the others -- only vaguely guilty about hacking what was essentially a high security alien bank. They managed to barter for what they'd been tasked to buy; mostly materials for repairs and anything Pidge found fascinating, or that's what it seemed to Keith as Pidge handed him more and more weird looking alien tech. Keith trailed behind her, bags heavy with rubbish as he stared at the booths, trying to decide what to buy.

The second pod left with Hunk and Lance inside. They landed and headed straight for the marketplace. Lance had chosen a port town, the sea sparkled and the wind smelled more like sulfur than salt, but otherwise it could have blended in almost back on Earth -- if Earth had been filled with a myriad tangle of aliens shopping for odd looking fish-like creatures clearly from an acrid ocean. Hunk pulled him along, picking tubers and fruit, fish and something that could have constituted as meat and Lance just kept his hands to himself, not wanting to question it too much. The communicator on his arm beeped. Pidge had sent them enough currency to cover their groceries and a little extra.

The third pod lingered a bit as Coran's worried pacing held them back, but finally after a thorough re-scan of the star system made it blatantly clear there was no Galra presence, he finally nodded and they pushed off, leaving the castle hidden on one of the moons orbiting the planet. Allura insisted on heading for a city, a sparkling epicenter of alien life. They docked and headed for the shops. Everything was covered in a shiny chrome. Buildings, plants and what must have been trees, adorned the rich material, growing straight out of what Shiro assumed to be metal, but alive -- somehow. The two men followed the princess, her enthusiasm catching as they flitted from one wondrous shop to the next. Shopping continued into dusk, the days shorter than Earth days and Coran, ever watchful, demanded they return to the ship before full dark. They met up at the castle and after they were once more in, what Lance had become to call the in-between -- the space filled with nothing between star systems -- Coran smiled and said they'd done well. 

It didn't take long for Pidge to have glowing lights strung all over the common room. Hunk had built a tree, the color a tad too bright a green, but it was muted to a reasonable tone after the lights had been dimmed and Pidge's fairy lights lit the room. Lance strung colorful linked paper garlands, that he had lovingly crafted, across the metal branches along with paper cut stars and snowflakes and angels. He was tempted to destroy a few good sheets for a more wintery effect, but held back, still bitter about the whole snow thing.

Finally it was the day, the day they'd picked out to be Christmas. Allura insisted they dress for the occasion, even Pidge grumbled at that, but after hours of preparations in the kitchen and waiting around if you had nothing better to do, everyone wanted nothing more than to sit and eat. Hunk had overdone himself. Expelling Coran from the kitchen, he'd tasked the other paladins to sous-chef duty as he made miracles happen.

Dinner took a full two hours to consume. Courses of what could have been ham and potatoes, or turkey and gravy, or cranberry custard and pudding -- were served along with Hunk's own inventions. It was at the end of dinner that Hunk stood and clicked his glass. The chatter quieted and everyone turned to look at him. He looked down and cleared his throat loudly.

"I know it's not quite right, but thank you for enjoying my attempt at a Christmas feast --" His words caused a tirade of protests and praise for how he'd outdone himself. "-- but I'd like to give my Secret Santa his gift now. Well, mostly since it's food related." He hurried out of the room for a second only to return with a covered tray.

"I know this was a human feast. We were catering to what we wanted, what we miss about things back home. Every single one of you came and asked for something special, something that reminded you of home. Even you Keith. Don't you look away! So, since I got Coran, I wanted to make something special for him as well." Hunk pulled the cover off the dish he was holding. The mess underneath was a good radioactive yellow sprinkled with orange and green specks that made Pidge make a face, only to hide it behind her hands a second later. "I wanted to make something special for you too. I don't quite know how it turned out, but I tried my best!" 

Hunk placed the tray in front of Coran who had his hands over his mouth and tears in his eyes. "It is beautiful," Coran gasped, blinking back tears. "It is just like the jipplox back home. Allura! Did you tell him about this!" 

The table erupted in a 'Merry Christmas, Coran!' and he covered the -- goo pudding -- to save it for later. It was best 3 days after creation after all.

"I want to give mine next!" Pidge chimed in and the table quieted once more. "I got Hunk," she claimed pulling out a small book shaped object, wrapped in a colorful paper. Hunk took the gift and carefully pulled at the bindings, not wanting to tear the paper. Everyone waited.

"It's -- what is it?" Hunk asked as the black metal box appeared.

"Put your hand on it, please," Pidge instructed and Hunk did as he was told. The screen flared to life and a slideshow of pictures appeared. It was all of them, from all their adventures in the past year -- smiling faces and beautiful planets.

"It's -- it's amazing Pidge, thank you," Hunk said. 

Pidge smiled and leaned next to Hunk placing her small finger on the screen. It lit up and she quickly scrolled to the last quarter of the cycling pictures. Hunk swallowed as he saw himself in Garrison uniform laughing at Lance. "How'd you get this?" Hunk asked, baffled as the pictures changed, some turned into short silent halo videos, some still frames of his time back on earth.

"I didn't have too many pictures from back then. But I did have some videos -- I might have had saved onto my computer when we were pulled into space. I never really looked at them before, but I'm glad I didn't delete them now." That's when Hunk pulled Pidge into a hug and no one said anything about the tears streaming down his cheeks.

It took them a few minutes to break free and Shiro had slipped out of the room. As Hunk finally released the protesting Pidge, Shiro returned with a box. He simply placed it on Pidge's lap. Her eyes were wide and she ripped the box open. "What is it?" Lance asked trying to see from across the table as Pidge just stared at whatever was in the box.

"It's --" Pidge started and swallowed. She folded the sides of the box down and pushed her hands in and pulled out a robot.

"I know how much Rover meant to you, so," Shiro explained as Pidge sat wordless. She pushed something and the thing activated with a green light, similar to the green lion's, flashed as it bobbed into the air, chirping happily. "Do you like it?"

"It's -- I -- thank you!" Pidge squealed, a sound none of the paladin's had heard before as she leapt at Shiro. He laughed and spun her around once before letting her down again.

"Who's next?" Hunk asked as Pidge finally sat back down. "Who do we have left? Keith?" Keith sat up straighter as everyone turned to look at him.

"Who did you get?" Allura asked, her smile dazzling.

"I--" Keith started and cleared his throat. He pulled out a small box from his pocket and placed it on the table. Everyone looked at it for a moment, only to have Keith push it over to Lance who rolled his eyes at the thing.

"Me, really? You got me a box. Thanks, Keith," Lance said pulling the box closer and popping off the slightly squished lid. He squinted, eyebrows furrowing as he pulled out a small glass box. The top was a clear glass with a dark metal bottom, nondescript, uninteresting. "What is it?"

Keith twitched forward and took the box and flipped it over carefully. There was a small button on the bottom and he pushed it before turning it over again. There was a soft sound and everyone leaned forward as Lance placed the thing on the table. It sat dark and still for a moment, only to have a soft blue light emit from the base, something swirled and water hit the side of the glass softly.

"What is it?" Lance asked again, eyes wide as he watched the tiny contraption.

"Just listen to it will you?" Keith said crossing his arms and looking away.

Lance pulled himself closer, ear to the box and the soft lapping of water. It swirled around; hues of blue twisting into purples and reds and back again. 

"You got me an ocean?" Lance asked, lips lifting into an unbelieving smile, but Keith refused to meet his eyes.

"Oh, we made that last week!" Hunk said, helpfully. "Well, I only helped a little with the physics. It was mostly Keith."

"You _made_ me an ocean?" Lance said, incredulous. 

"Whatever," Keith grumbled sinking deeper into his seat.

Lance watched him for a moment before pulling out his present. "I guess I got you yours. Here." Lance pushed the package at Keith.

"What?" Keith looked up. "You're joking."

"What are the odds," Hunk said and Pidge stifled a giggle.

Keith ignored them and ripped the carefully wrapped packaging off. It was a pair of red slippers. Red lion slippers.

"Is this a joke?" Keith asked looking at the pair.

"What! They are perfect! Just like the ones I have," Lance yelled nearly leaping out of his chair.

"He made them, special," Pidge said, trying to be helpful.

"I--thanks, Lance," Keith said looking down at the pair of slippers, cheeks tinged a bright red.

"If you hate them so much you can always just throw them away," Lance pulled away, crossing his arms in a pale imitation of Keith.

"I don't hate them," Keith said. "I just don't know if I can pull off red lion slippers."

"You just don't want to match me, do you Keith. What do you have against lion slippers anyway! They are perfect!" The fight would have continued if Coran hadn't coughed and pulled out a gift and placing it on the table. The two boys flushed and sat back down, cheeks burning more from embarrassment now than anger.

"My gift is for Princess Allura," Coran said and stood up handing the gift to Allura with a small bow and a smile. She clapped her hands together in delight. 

"What is it, Coran?" Allura asked, hands flitting across the box. It was a low square box wrapped in colorful paper and a bow on top.

"Now, princess, you'll just need to open it up and see," Coran laughed, a twinkle in his eye.

"So exciting. My first christmas present!" Allura took her time unwrapping the gift, but she stopped as soon as the silver box was revealed underneath. "Coran," she gasped, hands trembling.

"I happened to find them a few weeks ago. The mice were rummaging in one of the unused rooms and well," Coran trailed off.

"What is it?" Lance asked.

"What did you get, princess?" Pidge chimed in.

"Coran," Allura repeated as she lifted the top of the box revealing a thin circlet, along with a necklace, earrings, bracelet and three distinct rings.

"I think it's time we all accept it," Coran said softly. "I think this is as good time as any, don't you?"

"I don't know, am I ready?" Allura's voice shook as she let her fingers run along the circlet.

"You've been ready for a long time," Coran sighed.

"Am I missing something?" Lance asked only to be elbowed in the ribs. He glared and opened his mouth to say something to Keith, but the furrow of Keith's brow and the sharp shake of Shiro's head kept him quiet.

Allura blinked and looked up. "Oh, I am so sorry. These--" she took a deep breath and pulled her hand away from the jewelry in the box," -- these were my mothers. They are the Queen's jewels. Only -- only the Queen is allowed to wear them."

"They are so pretty," Pidge said, eyes gleaming behind her glasses.

Allura let her hand play with the small rings before taking them out and slipping them on her fingers. She smiled at them sadly. The last time she'd seen them were on her mother's fingers all those years ago.

"Thank you, Coran. You have always been the most noble friend," Allura whispered and hugged her advisor. After a long moment, she turned and looked at her Paladins.

"I got Shiro as my Secret Santa, but I'd like to think my present is for all of you." Allura smiled.

"What is it? Food?" Hunk asked.

"New training gear?" Keith's eyes gleamed at the thought.

"You found some new tech?" Pidge asked and bobbed forward. Her new robot, already named Rover the 2nd, followed suit.

Allura laughed and just shook her head. "Just follow me." The others traded glances, but stood and left the table, hurrying after Allura. They gathered around and walked down the corridor in silence, wondering what the present could be. She led them to a large empty room.

"What is this?" Lance asked as they walked to the center of the large domed room.

"Just give me a second," Allura said and walked up to the lone console at the center. She tapped a few times and suddenly everything changed. The lights dimmed and they weren't on the ship anymore.

Pidge gasped audibly.

The room had morphed into a snowy expanse of fir trees. The ceiling was stars and suddenly a flash of green and purple crossed the sky. The color lingered, pulsing and waving, long strands of light across the sky.

"The stars," Shiro said as he peered up.

"I thought you'd realize," Allura said and walked up to him.

"Stars?" Hunk asked and soon they were all peering up at the sky.

"Is that the big dipper?" Lance asked pointing.

"It is! It's earth! It's the stars on earth!" Hunk exclaimed.

"It looks so real," Pidge said already up inspecting the trees and the snow.

"It's beautiful," Keith whispered and Lance caught his profile as the aurora borealis flared to life once again.

"It is," Lance agreed.

They stayed there that night. Talking and watching the stars slowly move across the domed ceiling. Allura watched her paladins and for the first time in months everything was peaceful and good.

Merry Christmas!

* * *

Extra Scene:

"What were the odds of us getting each other?" Keith asked as he lay on the ground, new slippers snugly on his feet.

"I, well--," Lance spluttered and glanced to the right at Keith and then back up to the sky. "I might have switched with Hunk, maybe." He admitted quietly.

Keith laughed and Lance pushed himself up to this elbows to glare, but his gaze was melted by Keith's smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at [tumblr](http://bluphacelia.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/blu_tweets).


End file.
